How to make a NSFM chocolate rum-raisin cake – it might not look like much but it packs a punch

This cake looks unassuming – it’s quite plain, and is decorated with nothing more than a light dusting of icing sugar. But be warned: it is potent. It irritates me when I order rum-raisin something – ice cream, cake, chocolates – and the flavours are weak; you won’t have that complaint about this cake. It is probably NSFM, not because it is X-rated, but because the cake contains so much alcohol.

Chocolate rum-raisin cake

Mixing and baking this cake is easy and doesn’t take long, but you need to plan ahead, because the raisins need to soak in the rum for at least a day. And while you can eat the cake as soon as it has cooled, it tastes much better if it rests for a few hours (or even better, overnight), to give the rum syrup time to soak in.

The butter should be slightly softened, so it is malleable but not greasy, and the eggs and sour cream should be at room temperature.

The cake needs to be baked in a tube pan that holds two litres.

200 grams raisins
200ml dark rum
250 grams unsalted butter, slightly softened
225 grams granulated sugar
¾ tsp fine sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
10 grams Dutch-process cocoa powder
100 grams bittersweet chocolate (I use Valrhona with 85 per cent cacao or Lindt with 90 per cent cacao), chopped
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
235 grams sour cream, at room temperature
225 grams plain (all-purpose) flour, divided

For the soaking syrup:
60 grams granulated sugar
60ml dark rum
Icing sugar, for dusting

1 Put the raisins in a bowl and pour in 200ml of rum. Stir briefly, then cover the bowl with cling film and leave the raisins to soak at room temperature for at least a day.

2 Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Use pan coating to evenly spray a tube pan that holds two litres.